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Hi all. With MSE no longer available for download for XP (and with limited updates in the future), what would be the best antivirus and antimalware set-up? I have a bunch of questions as ever;
Currently have Avast, but was wondering if AVG would be better? Or anything else?
As stand-alone additional scanners/blockers, I just have SpywareBlaster to help protect, and MalwareBytes available as a standalone scanner. Is it worth adding Superantispyware to the mix, or indeed anything else (I of course have CCleaner)?
Is it worth keeping XP? My family is using it on there desktop, and really can't afford to upgrade to Vista or any of the above (and I don't think it would run particularly well). What would be best? Try Lubuntu/Xubuntu or the like? Or leave XP and just be careful?
Thanks for the advice as always!

Is your antivirus protecting your computer or making it more hackable?
Internet security experts are warning that anti-malware technology is becoming less and less effective at protecting your data and devices, and there's evidence that security software can sometimes even make your computer more vulnerable to security breaches.
This week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) issued a warning about popular antivirus software made by Symantec, some of it under the Norton brand, after security researchers with Google's Project Zero found critical vulnerabilities.
"These vulnerabilities are as bad as it gets. They don't require any user interaction, they affect the default configuration, and the software runs at the highest privilege levels possible," wrote Google researcher Tavis Ormandy in a blog post. Symantec said it had verified and addressed the issues in updates that users are advised to install.
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Security software giant Avast Software has acquired rival AVG Technologies. Avast will pay $25 cash for each of AVG’s outstanding ordinary shares in a deal amounting to around $1.3 billion.
Founded out of Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s — initially called Grisoft — AVG has grown to become one of the biggest brands in desktop and mobile security apps. It also offers a range of related services, including AVG Cleaner for Android and Mac. The company is now headquartered in Amsterdam.
Avast’s origins can also be traced back to the old Czechoslovakia, as the company was founded out of Prague in 1988. It has since emerged as one of the leading online security firms and is reported to control more than a fifth of the global antivirus software market. Though it is better known for its security software, Avast has branched out into other verticals — earlier this year, the company launched a new initiative to reveal the best Wi-Fi hotspots, using crowdsourced data.
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Security firm AVG can sell search and browser history data to advertisers in order to "make money" from its free antivirus software, a change to its privacy policy has confirmed.
The updated policy explained that AVG was allowed to collect "non-personal data", which could then be sold to third parties. The new privacy policy comes into effect on 15 October, but AVG explained that the ability to collect search history data had also been included in previous privacy policies, albeit with different wording.
AVG's potential ability to collect and sell browser and search history data placed the company "squarely into the category of spyware", according to Alexander Hanff security expert and chief executive of Think Privacy.
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Avast is a full-featured antivirus package designed exclusively for home users and non-commercial use. The latest version of avast! antivirus kernel features outstanding detection abilities, together with high performance. You can expect 100% detection of In-the-Wild viruses (viruses already spreading between users) and excellent detection of Trojan horses. The kernel is certified by ICSA; and frequently takes part in the tests of Virus Bulletin magazine, often yielding the VB100 award.
The avast! engine also features outstanding unpacking support. It can scan inside the following archives: ARJ, ZIP, MIME (+ all associated formats), MAPI (Outlook pst files), DBX (Outlook Express archives), RAR, TAR, GZIP, CAB, BZIP2, ZOO, ACE, ARC, LHA/LHX, TNEF (winmail.dat), CPIO, CHM, RPM, ISO, 7ZIP and SIS. It also supports a number of executable packers (such as PKLite, Diet, UPX, ASPack, PeShield, FSG, MEW etc.). Last, but not least, it can also scan for viruses hidden in Alternate data streams on NTFS volumes.
Download: avast! 2014 Homepage: avast! antivirus software
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